Reddit says it is investing in search and positioning the company as a direct search destination. According to CEO Steve Huffman, the company wants to become a “go-to search engine,” and it is now investing resources to make that happen.

In a note to investors, Huffman said Reddit is focused on building “the areas that will drive results for our most pressing needs,” with search being a top priority. The platform already attracts people searching for product reviews, news reactions, advice, and niche insights.

Previously, in February, the platform announced plans to launch an enhanced search experience this year. Huffman had said the company will introduce a more advanced search system. Now, the company is aiming to create a unified search interface. "Our focus right now is on unifying the Reddit search, like traditional search on Reddit, which is very widely used on Reddit, and the new Reddit answers product ... we're unifying those into a single search experience, and we're going to bring that front and center in the app," Huffman said.

Users are already searching with Reddit in mind

Huffman noted that “every week, hundreds of millions of people come to Reddit looking for advice,” and the company is working on converting that intent into deeper use of Reddit’s native search features. Even without a dedicated engine, many people use Reddit as part of their search flow. A common practice is to type “Reddit” alongside a Google query to find first-hand discussions.

The company’s internal numbers show there is a solid base to build on. Reddit’s core search function has over 70 million weekly active unique users. Reddit Answers, an AI-powered search feature that launched in December 2024, has grown to 6 million weekly users, up from just 1 million earlier this year.

Reddit Answers uses Google AI for now

Reddit Answers is powered by Gemini, Google Cloud’s AI model. It allows users to type a question and get an AI-generated summary based on multiple Reddit threads. It works as a way to pull together the best parts of a conversation without reading a host of replies.

At the same time, Reddit has a content licensing deal with OpenAI, which gives ChatGPT access to Reddit’s real-time content through its data API. This allows OpenAI to surface Reddit discussions in its products, including ChatGPT. While Reddit currently depends on Google and OpenAI for AI support and distribution, building its own search engine could eventually reduce that reliance.

Reddit is growing, and search is next

The platform’s user base is growing. Reddit now has 110.4 million daily active users, up 21% from last year’s 91.2 million. Weekly active uniques averaged 416.4 million in the latest quarter, up 22% year-over-year. This growth gives Reddit more confidence to scale its native search tools, with a potential long-term goal of capturing the type of traffic that today still goes to Google.

To keep that momentum, Reddit says it is expanding Reddit Answers globally and making it a bigger part of its overall search experience. The plan is to place search more visibly across Reddit, not just as a feature, but as a core way users engage with the platform.

According to Huffman, “The world and the Internet are rapidly changing, and I believe Reddit has a once-in-a-generation opportunity.” Whether that opportunity lies in becoming the next big search player depends on whether Reddit can turn conversations into answers and answers into ad revenue.